A Bougie Thru-hike
Over the last three weeks I’ve met a handful of people while on the trail: one thru-hiker backpacking but mostly segment hikers tackling the trail over many months or years. When I share that I’m thru-hiking and have been on the trail since Sept 19, every single person says without fail, “Oohh, I see you’ve got a small pack there.” EVERY SINGLE ONE.
It’s not lost on me that I’m not roughing it, that I’m extremely fortunate to have Eric shuttling me to and from the trail each day. That I’m not carrying everything I need for weeks on my back. That’s enough to call this a bougie thru-hike, but there are other reasons:
I shower each day. This is so luxurious. Though once I was so tired after the day’s miles that I was tempted to skip, but Eric said absolutely not.
My family is with me so I’m never homesick.
My meals are not freeze dried and we often eat out at local restaurants. We try to cook at camp, but the pull of tavern style pizza, Culver’s, and small-town favorites win out most of the time.
I sleep in a warm bed in a heated camper, snuggled with my loves.
I wear clean clothes each day.
My pack is small, as everyone notes.
And perhaps the biggest reason: I use a leg compression machine each night. 💅
